My dad under the tarp which covers the generator, adding gas to light the star.

A view from where the star is...don't slip!

We made it!

Me, thoroughly winded from the climb.

Ahhh! Let there be light!

A view of the star from the other side of the valley where I live...see that tiny dot of light above all the others?

Six years ago, my dad had this idea to build a giant Christmas star out of pine, attach light bulbs to it and haul it up the mountain behind my parents' home where he would mount it and light it each night through the Christmas season with a generator.

Not only did he have this crazy idea, but he followed through with it. Now every year after Thanksgiving, he and my husband and brother climb the slope with the big slats of wood, piece by piece, then carry the heavy generator up as well. Then they assemble it on the side of a rocky cliff and pin down a thick tarp to keep snow off of the generator.

My dad hikes the very steep mountain face every night at 5 pm to light the star, from December 10-January 1, and over the years has attracted a lot of company on his hikes. Youth groups have gone up with him, several friends and neighbors, complete strangers, and family members, of course. He has rarely hiked it alone. It has become a great tradition in the community where he lives, and he often finds thank you notes and treats that people leave up there for him to find. Needless to say, my parents now have a nice collection of star-shaped tree ornaments too, as thank you gifts from random people.

What I love about my dad is that he didn't do this for recognition...in fact for a few years hardly anybody knew it was him doing it. He is just one of those people who likes to do awesome things and spread the Christmas spirit, and would rather remain anonymous.